February 7, 2013

We Look at Scouts From Both Sides Now

If you haven’t noticed, the battle to open the Boy Scouts to gays has now being engaged by visual media. On the heels of the Scout’s decision to kick the can down the road once more, photos from the rather paranoid-looking demonstration outside the Scout’s HQ in Irving Texas are being juxtaposed with images that are decidedly “out.”

What’s impressive about Jacquelyn Martin’s photo of Scout Pascal Tessier is (and the double-meaning’s intended) how he’s filled with pride. The fact Pascal’s older brother, Lucien — since “retired,” as we see — went through the scouting experience also, and is still smiling — with apparently nobody getting hurt, shamed, abused or corrupted — makes the photo that much more significant. (That’s on top of the parent’s pride in their son’s (scouting) identities, as well as my two thumbs up for the dignity of the oil painting.)

As for the demonstration photo, I wonder about the kid with the flag off the Texas Values speaker’s shoulder. Not about his sexuality, but about how much difficulty he and the other kids here would have relating to Pascal if boys were simply left to their merits.

(photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP. caption: Pascal Tessier, 16, center left, a Boy Scout, and his brother Lucien Tessier, 20, pose for a portrait with their parents at their home in Kensington, Md., Feb 4, 2013. The two Tessier boys progressed to Boy Scouts as many in their troop became aware that the boys are gay. The family hopes the BSA officially scrap the ban on gay scouts. photo: Darrell Byers/Reuterscaption: Jonathan Saenz, president of Texas Values, was among those imploring the Boy Scouts to continue excluding gays.)